CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
JULY 2022 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY CARE LINE | 713-826-5332
Stolen identity There ain’t no tellin’ where I’ll be, Because of late there’s two of me And one has tons of fun for free With my stolen identity! Steve Forbert’s hilarious song charts the nationwide trek of the man who steals his identity and wines, dines, carouses, and causes expensive mischief in Steve’s name. The song is funny, but identity theft is not. The Department of Justice reports that each year over 1.6 million Americans experience the horror of opening a Visa bill or credit report and discovering that someone wreaked THE VERY REV. havoc by taking on their BARKLEY identities. THOMPSON Identity theft is a financial nightmare, but it’s also more than that. The realization that someone has stolen your name is a violation of the most intimate sort. I may strive all my life to form a distinctive and particular character, and in a matter of hours a dark stranger can twist and pervert my identity until I am no longer recognizable to the world at large as the person I intend to be. But I wonder…does identity theft primarily occur when some third-party steals what is ours? Is the nefarious stranger most often someone on the outside? As Christian people, we are called to die to our old identities and live anew. St. Paul tells us, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20) We meditate on this and similar words of truth when we gather for worship or kneel to pray, but who is it that then gets up and walks back into the world? Who wines, dines, carouses, sows discord,
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The sanctity of the Sabbath God’s mandate for the Sabbath is simple. Making it happen in our own lives is the hard part. “The Sabbath is in the 10 Commandments’ so that is extremely foundational,” said Canon Missioner for Evangelism and Formation Becky Zartman. “At the same time, I’m not good at it.” “Sabbath rest is very, very countercultural,” adds Canon Missioner for Community Life and Young Adult Ministry Bradley Varnell. He also makes the point that the Sabbath is not simply time off or a break. “It is directly connected with worship, and
the very rhythm of life,” he said. Scripture offers two reasons for the Sabbath. In Exodus 20:8-11, God tells Moses that the Jewish people are to honor the Sabbath in recognition of God’s own rest on the Sabbath Day — the seventh day of creation. We rest because we are made in the image of God and God rested. The second reference comes from Deuteronomy 5:12-16, where God commands the Jewish people to observe the Sabbath as a remembrance that they were enslaved people in Egypt. “Here, rest commemorates the people’s
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Cathedral app offers new options for connection In July, parishioners will have a new way to connect with Christ Church Cathedral through a mobile app available on Apple and Google Play app stores. Minister for Communications Brant Mills says the app will help people more easily find the information they need. “We want to help audiences find new ways to engage and interact.” Included in the app, folks can find events and educational offerings, information for in-person and online worship, links to livestreams on Sundays, weekly service leaflets, and the monthly Bulletin. There will also be options to simplify giving, available in the palm of your hand. The company building the app, PushPay, serves more than 7,000 customers including churches, schools, and
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Our Cathedral Family We celebrate with
E Nellen Hawkins and Bobby Roland who were married in the Cathedral on June 25. E the newly baptized: Ophelia James Collins, Roslyn Ana Evans, and Frances Barnett Jackson.
We extend heartfelt sympathy
E to the family of James A. Saye Jr. who passed away on April 6, 2022. James is father to Jim Saye. E to the family of Dorothy Brei Marsh who passed away on April 6, 2022. Dorothy is mother to Laura Marsh. E to the family of Barbara Goodhart Hornbeck who passed away on April 17, 2022. E to the family of Norman Sachnik who passed away on April 24, 2022. Norman is father to Stephen Sachnik, father-inlaw to Eric Hagstette and brother to Edward Sachnik. E to the family of Patricia Kyle who passed away on May 2, 2022. Patricia is mother to Bradford Kyle and motherin-law to Martha Kyle. E to the family of member Judy Mood who passed away on May 7, 2022. Judy is spouse to Rob Mood.
Flowers on the Cathedral Altar
E on May 29 were given to the glory of God in in thanksgiving and in loving memory of Barbara Hornbeck by Sue and Hart Green. E on June 5 were given to the glory of God in joyful thanksgiving for the life of Carter Roberts Boyd. E on June 26 were given to the glory of God in love and in celebration of the marriage of Nellen Hawkins to Bobby Roland by her parents Hester and George Hawkins. E on July 3 are given to the glory of God in loving memory of Diane Tobola by Erin and Toby McMillin. E on July 24 are given to the glory of God in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Melissa and John Standish.
The Flowers in the floor vases
E on June 19 were given to the glory of God in loving memory of Winston Pettus Crowder on his birthday by his family. THE BULLETIN
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Rally Against Hunger
On Sunday, September 11, the Cathedral will Rally Against Hunger as we gather to pack 100,000 meals for our neighbors across the globe. Following a combined service at 10 a.m., we will work shoulder to shoulder to measure, bag, seal and box 100,000 meals that will be shipped to the hungriest regions on our planet. With decades of experience, our partners at Rise Against Hunger will bring the raw materials and organize our efforts. Our job is to provide a willing spirit and working hands. The pack will take place in two locations: in Reynolds Hall and a bilingual pack will be offered in Sanders Hall. Ages 5 and up are invited to participate and an extended children’s program will be offered for those under 5 years of age. In order to pack 100,000 meals, we need everyone’s participation! And there are special volunteer opportunities for those who would like to help lead this effort. Visit www.christchurchcathedral.org/rallyagainsthunger for additional information about the event and how you can sign up to volunteer and make a difference.
Campaign to relieve medical debt Two months ago the Mission Outreach Council (MOC) and the Justice and Peace Council (J&P) announced a joint proposal to work towards reducing medical debt. We are excited to share with you that the campaign is going strong! MOC and J&P have combined their time, energy and spirit to spearhead the
campaign. The Cathedral’s communications department has been supportive in helping to spread the word about the medical debt situation in our country and what we can do as members of the Body of Christ to address this problem. And Dean Thompson has pledged up to $5,000 in matching funds from his discretionary fund to spur us on! But most importantly, you have responded! We shared information about the staggering toll that medical debt can take on so many households. You asked insightful and important questions. We explained that we were partnering with a nationally known 501(c)(3) nonprofit — RIP Medical Debt — that locates, buys, and forgives unpaid medical debt. We set our goal of raising $5,000 through donations and shared with you that Dean Thompson
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IDENTITY, from cover
Episcopal Night at the Ballpark Episcopal Night at the Ballpark returns on July 28. Join Cathedral friends and Episcopalians from around the diocese to see the Mariners play the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Wear your Astros gear and get ready for a great night. We’ll start the evening at 5 p.m. with a cookout in the EPISCOPAL NIGHT AT THE Bishop’s Courtyard complete with hot dogs, sodas, cracker BALLPARK jacks, and a raffle — all free of charge! Thursday, July 28 After the cookout, enjoy a short walk to Minute Maid Stadium for the opening pitch at 7:10 p.m. Tickets to the game can be purchased online at www.christchurchcathedral.org/astros. $33 for adults, $16 for kids 12 and under. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the mission and ministry of Episcopal Relief and Development.
or causes mischief as us? In other words, is the bearer of our name the Christ who lives in us, or do we steal our identity back from the One to whom we have freely (and blessedly) given it and revert to the character of our old lives? How can we know? In his song, Steve Forbert has a clue that someone is masquerading as him by the evidence. The same is true for us. St. John tells us, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) And the prophet Micah explains what such love looks like, saying, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) Who is it that walks through the world in your name? Has the stranger within stolen your identity back from you, or do you shine with the light of Christ? Just as Jesus himself was broken on the cross and resurrected, our true and only identity is in the One who accepts us in our brokenness and then declares that we are whole. Through the identity of the Christ who lives in us, may we walk through this world, sharing grace and sowing love. That is who we are, and let no one, from without or within portray us differently.
The case of the wandering Credence Table THE REV. ED STEIN
One day I received a package from an old friend, the Rev. Dr. Lloyd A. Lewis, then professor of New Testament at the Virginia Seminary (VTS). Dr. Lewis, otherwise known as “Tony” was for three years my next-door neighbor in St. George’s Hall when we were both at VTS, Class of 1972. The package contained a small piece of Church furnishing, a little shelf designed to be used as a “Credence Table” (a side-table or wall-shelf used to hold the offertory vessels for the Eucharist). The border of the back-piece is topped by a fleur-de-lis with scroll work running down either side. The base of the shelf has a carved series of grapes and vines. The larger back piece has a Eucharistic Host surrounded by a sunburst mandala, above an arrangement of wheat sheaves and grapevines. This credence table came with a complicated provenance: It is inscribed “Made of Wood from the Old Altar of Christ Church Houston, Texas, by R.E. Cuthrell, October 24, 1942.” Apparently Mr. Cuthrell must have been an excellent woodworker, who after the fire salvaged carved bits from the remains of the altar and reredos of the 1900 church. In the
following years he produced this shelf as a memento of the old church, and presented it to the priest who guided Christ Church through the fire and the rebuiding. The Rev. James de Wolfe was Rector of Christ Church (not-yet-Cathedral) here, at the time of the fire and rebuilding of the Chancel in the late 1930s. From Houston, de Wolfe was called to be Dean of St. John the Divine Cathedral, NYC, and from there elected Bishop of Long Island. The Credence Table must have been presented to Bishop De Wolfe when he was still Dean of St. John’s and travelled with him to his Cathedral in Garden City, and installed in his private chapel in the diocesan offices there. Tony Lewis was Dean of Mercer DiInscribed “Made of Wood from the Old Altar of Christ Church vinity School in the early 1980s, which Houston, Texas, by R.E. Cuthrell, October 24, 1942.” neighbors the diocese of Long Island’s Cathedral of the Incarnation, in Garden Table to Virginia with him when he was called City, Long Island, New York. He rescued the cre- to the faculty of Virginia Seminary, and used it dence during a remodeling of the diocesan of- in his own chapel, in a faculty residence at Virfices, including the bishops’ chapel there. All the ginia during the 1990s and early 2000s. traditional chapel furnishings were being disWhen I came to the Cathedral, Dr. Lewis carded and Dr. Lewis thought the little shelf de- decided it was time for the little shelf to return served to survive. Dr. Lewis took the Credence home to Houston, and he sent it on to me. PAGE 3
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Commissioning Misioners, Summer Shade, CUSE, and more
IN PICTURES
Below: The Rev. Bradley Varnell commissions Cathedral members as they prepare to depart for the Costa Rica Mission trip.
Above: Cathedral Youth put together meals during the CUSE Houston Mission trip.
Left:
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: Members of The Vestry host Summer Place on June 5.
Above: Cathedral Youth take a break in front of a mural during the CUSE Houston Mission trip.
ABOVE: Parishioners discuss opportunities to help others during the Pastoral Care Volunteer Lunch. PAGE 5
THE BULLETIN
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liberation, it’s a statement of their freedom to rest,” said Canon Varnell. Canon Zartman equates the Deuteronomy verses to an assertion about the dignity of all human beings. “Everyone in the household had to rest, even the animals,” she said. The benefits of following God’s directive are powerful. Canon Zartman said that Abraham Joshua Heschel’s seminal 1951 book on the subject, The Sabbath, has helped her think about the practice. “Heschel has this great quote, ‘the Sabbath is not for the sake of the weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of Sabbath,’” she said. “’It is not an interlude but the climax of living.’ He makes the point that the Sabbath is the queen of days, and everything you do is oriented towards this time.” Of course, in our materialistic world, this requires much intentionality. “We move around in a world of things,” Canon Zartman said. “We work for things and we do things to earn more money, but the Sabbath is making time itself sacred. You can’t buy time, [and] you can’t trade it for something. The time itself is set aside and so that day is meant to be sacred.” The good news is that we can do it anywhere. A fisherman might find God in the quiet of a lake. Canon Zartman gets replenished at home by reading religious works. “When you think about early Judaism, when the temple was taken away there was no place,” she said. “But there was time. Sabbath is not a find time kind of thing, it is a make time kind of thing. And it’s supposed to be something that really feeds you.” Making the time to rest is also a matter of remembering who we are in relation to God. Canon Varnell remembers a specific lesson during his first year of seminary. “Our professor asked the question that if God rested and the world kept spinning, what were we doing that was so important we couldn’t rest?” he said. “There are probably lots of benefits to Sabbath as a day of intentional rest, but the real fruit is a reminder that we are not God. Very little in the grand scheme of things depends on us.” Both Canon Zartman and Canon Varnell emphasize that the Sabbath is not “selfcare” and it is not intended to replenish your strength so you can work better. Rest is good in and of itself. Its worthiness doesn’t come from anything other than God’s command. “Practicing the Sabbath made me realize that for many Americans ‘rest’ actually depends on other people working very hard,” Canon Varnell said. “For example, many will THE BULLETIN
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treat Sunday as a Sabbath, which is great, but we have sextons and childcare workers and others here at the Cathedral who are working really hard so people can enjoy their Sabbath. I think practice brings that to light and, ideally, should lead us to fight to make sure everyone can enjoy rest.” For Canon Zartman, an 8-week stay in Jerusalem was an enlightening lesson in Sabbath keeping. “For the Jewish population in Jerusalem it was a serious thing not to break the Sabbath,” she said. “So to suddenly be thrust into a totally different time was somehow really disorienting but also really wonderful.” To get into the practice of rest, Canon Zartman counsels to first turn off your screens and find an accountability partner. While 24 hours is the goal, it may initially be too challenging. “Give yourself four hours of Sabbath and then keep adding slowly,” she said. Canon Varnell suggests working towards
the Sabbath by getting all your work done in advance. “Do the laundry, wash the car, weed the garden, so that on the Sabbath you are really free to just enjoy the day - take a walk, read, eat good food, nap,” he said. “Sabbath rest, rest from work, is rest from all work, not just paid labor.” This includes kids. “I worry that we’re not allowing our kids to rest, and we’re modeling a kind of life that, ultimately, will burn them out,” he said. “As Christians, we are invited to live in the Kingdom of God right now, and that includes living a life shaped by God’s own rest. Adults need to learn this, but so do kids.” For Canon Zartman, safeguarding the sanctity of the Sabbath is a way to unload all the baggage that holds us back. “Sabbath is an antidote to what enslaves us during the week,” she said. “We are supposed to be free people who serve God.”
Summer Place continues Summer Place is a special coffee hour during the Summer. Every Sunday through August 14 a different council will be hosting Summer Place in Reynolds Hall from 10 –11 a.m. Come by and see what the councils are up to and visit with friends old and new. All are welcome! SCHEDULE July 3 Community Life July 10 Justice and Peace July 17 Mission Outreach Council July 24 Latino Ministry Council July 31 Welcome and Newcomers Council Aug. 7
Christian Formation & the Arts: Cathedral Reads Discussion
Aug. 14 Young Adults and Jerusalem Peace Builders
Please Bring School Supplies Sunday July 17 During Summer Place on July 17, please help support our church-sponsored refugee family by bringing a donation of school supplies for their elementary aged children who are starting school this fall. Please see suggested items from the list at: www.christchurchcathedral.org/suggestedsupplies
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was prepared to match every dollar contributed up to $5,000. Fulfilling our vision statement of “Rooted in Christ; Built on Christ” you are displaying compassion, generosity, and commitment. We will continue to collect donations through July 10, 2022. You can contribute by sending a check to the Cathedral with “Medical Debt Relief ” noted on the memo line, using the QR code on page 2, or donating through the Cathedral’s website at www.christchurchcathedral. org/medicaldebt. We will come together at Summer Place on July 10 to celebrate what we have accomplished. We can do this!
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Visit christchurchcathedral.org/events or call 713-222-2593 to learn more about these and other events at the Cathedral. Registration recommended
Registration required JULY 9
JULY JULY 1
FRI
Bridge Night 6:30 p.m., McGehee Conference Room. JULY 4 Fourth of July Cathedral offices are closed.
MON
Registration closed SAT
Threads of Comfort and Joy 10–11 a.m., Zoom. A gathering for those who love to knit and crochet. JULY 14
THU
Alzheimer & Dementia Support Group 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Zoom. Second Thursday of the month.
Childcare available (3 mo. to 12 yrs.)
JULY 17
MON
SUNDAYS CONT.
20s & 30s Drag Brunch 1 p.m., Hamburger Mary's. RSVP to bvarnell@christchurchcathedral.org
To the Lighthouse Small Groups Cathedral Reads Small Groups continue July 10, 17, 24. Offsite.
JULY 21
THURSDAYS
THU
Lily Briscoe’s Painting Party 7 p.m. Art Cellar Houston, 1809 Eldridge Pkwy #210 Registration Required Cost: $20/individual, scholarships available. JULY 22
To the Lighthouse with Loose Canons 12:05-12:55 p.m., July 14, 21, 28. Greetings from
FRI
Noche Familiar Reynolds Hall, 6-8 p.m. THURSDAYS Summer Shade 6th graders–graduating seniors.
Noche Familiar Noche Familiar “Family Night” is a wonderful program intended to build community and strengthen relationships among participant families. This program focuses on culture and tradition, and offers opportunities for people to learn from each other. It also offers a time for children to learn about traditions in the Latino culture. We share food and play traditional Latino games. Each night is led by different members of the Latino Congregation of the Cathedral making presentations in Spanish or having people working in different group activities. We have lots of fun during Family Night! Everybody is welcome to participate, July 22, 6-8 p.m., Reynolds Hall. For more information please contact Sylvia García, assistant to the Latino Ministry, at 713-590-3329 or email sgarcia@christchurchcathedral.org
JULY 28 THU Episcopal Night at the Ballpark 5 p.m. pre-game in The Bishop’s Courtyard. Walk to ballpark. Opening pitch at 7:10 p.m. JULY 28-30
THU-SAT
Escuela Bíblica de Verano In Neighborhoods or Sanders Hall. July 28-30 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; July 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
WEEKLY SUNDAYS
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non-profits. One of their main objectives is on helping churches with giving and engagement. Chief Operating Officer Karen Kraycirik said that the Cathedral has discussed having an app before but that the timing never seemed right. “With COVID, and the way in which our virtual connections have grown, needs have changed dramatically,” she said. “We want new people to find information easily, but we also want to continue to serve the needs of long-time members of the parish,” Mills noted. “We’re also looking at options for sending and receiving push notifications, so if something changes last minute, Cathedral staff can more efficiently communicate with parishioners who opt-in.” Kraycirik added that the app may not have all the features to start, but over time new ones will be added. “This offers a new form of outreach that has wonderful potential to spread God’s word and do God’s work.” The new app is available for IOS and Android through the App Store and Google Play. You can find it by searching for “Christ Church Cathedral.” You may also download the app by texting: CCCATHEDRAL APP to 77977. Make sure to allow push notifications for your device, and select the ministry areas you’re interested in so you can receive alerts and updates while you’re on campus.
Summer Place 10 a.m., Reynolds Hall, July 3-Aug. 14. Art Space at Summer Place 10 a.m., Reynolds Hall. For kids and kidsat-heart for a time of creative expression. July 10-July 31 Cathedral Tours Tours are held every Sunday following the 11 a.m. service. They will also be held the third Sunday of each month (July 17) following services at 9 a.m. and The Well.
July 14
Movie Night : “Thor: Love and Thunder”
July 21
Activity Day: Service Day @ The Beacon (7 a.m.-12 p.m.)
July 28
Game Night: Episcopal Night at the Astros
Aug. 4
Candytopia
UPCOMING AUG. 7
SUN
All Cathedral Reads Conversation 10 a.m., Reynolds Hall. AUG. 12
FRI
Remember the Water of your Baptism Pool Party 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Quillian Center. Intergenerational event: all are welcome. SEPT. 7
WED
Dean's Book Club 6:30 p.m., McGehee Conference Room. Matrix, by Lauren Groff. SEPT. 18
SUN
Blood Drive 10 a.m., Sanders Hall. www.christchurchcathedral.org/blooddrive
Through August:
COMFORT CALLS
from the Vestry
A Vestry representative will call you to ask how we’re doing and to hear your hopes and concerns PAGE 7
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Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Houston, Texas
1117 Texas Avenue Houston, Texas 77002-3183
PERMIT No. 6404
Did you know you can read The Bulletin on our website? If you’d like to go “online-only,” contact Ramona Sikes at rsikes@christchurchcathedral.org or call her at 713-217-1347.
Caring for all at Christ Church Cathedral CLAIRE SOARD, MINISTER FOR PASTORAL CARE
Escuela Bíblica de Verano During a week in the summer the kids from our Sunday School classes and their friends get together to have Summer Bible School. They meet at someone’s house (depending on the weather) or in Sanders Hall to learn a Bible story then have time to do crafts, play games, and have lunch together. All children ESCUELA BÍBLICA K – 5th grade are welcome to DE VERANO attend. July 28-30 For more information please contact Sylvia García, assistant to the Latino Ministry, at 713-590-3329 or email sgarcia@christchurchcathedral.org or call Irene Hernández, Coordinator for Sunday School at 713-249-4914. THE BULLETIN
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Do you think about yourself as someone who participates in “pastoral care”? It can be an intimidating phrase. No one wants to have to learn how to grieve. Or know what it means to have seasons of profound loneliness or experiences that break apart their idea of what parenthood or marriage or retirement would be. Walking alongside someone who is in deep pain can expose our own fears of pain or loss, of not knowing what to say or how to show up. Pastoral care requires us to work out our “pause muscles,” to trust that in making space for someone’s pain, we will somehow offer a gift of presence. Jesus is a person who can sit in sadness and weep with people like you and me with failing bodies and missing loved ones and broken dreams. Jesus was bombarded with the mundane and chronic and urgent needs of the people around him. Jesus practiced the empathy of seeing the needs around him and was moved to act in compassion. Pastoral Care is part of our work as disciples of Jesus. Seeing a need, pausing, and being present to that pain is faithfulness to
the example we see in Jesus. You and I can lean into this work, we can recognize where we are already joining in, and practice how to do it more fully. I encourage you to look around you. Where are you seeing someone who is hurting or exhausted? Could you take one step of compassion? Ask God to show you how. And watch the people around you who are already good at pausing and being present. Does this “holy listening” strike a chord? Maybe you want to talk with a Lay Chaplain who has spent many hours practicing. Maybe you want to attend the Community of Hope, Intermational class to explore it this fall. Maybe you want to join a Bible Study with ears listening for the ways God works in brokenness. If you are feeling a tug, reach out to me to connect and talk about what your work in the hard places might be at csoard@christchurchcathedral.org. Whatever our difficult paths, may God’s comfort come and find us as we follow the example of Jesus for each other. Visit www.christchurchcathedral.org/care to learn more about pastoral care ministry and ways you can get involved.
